HOT SPRINGS -- Helen Selig, a former Hot Springs mayor and the first female chairman of The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce board of directors, was remembered Monday as a "great force" in the community.
Selig, 84, died Friday after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease. She served as mayor of Hot Springs from 1994 to 2000, and during her tenure the Hot Springs Convention Center was constructed and the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts opened.
"Hot Springs is truly a better place because of her passion, the work that she did, and her influence," City Manager Bill Burrough said. "When Helen Selig was involved, people would listen."
Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison praised Selig for her involvement in getting the convention center built, as well as her involvement in the community as a whole.
"She was a great force in our community," he said. "A lot of good things happened through the years. Her fingerprints are all over them."
Corey Alderdice, director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, praised Selig as well for her involvement in the school's opening.
"Without her, her passion and persistence, Hot Springs would not be the home of ASMSA, nor would the program have enjoyed the successful start that it did," he said.
Selig was born in Siloam Springs and moved across several states while raising her children with her husband of 64 years, John David Selig. When they moved to Hot Springs she was a commercial Realtor and founder, with her son, Scott, of Selig Commercial Real Estate, which was the only local company to specialize in commercial real estate at the time, according to her biography.
She was a founding member of the Arkansas Women's Leadership Forum as well as the Women's Foundation of Arkansas. She volunteered for several organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Hot Springs Parks Board of Directors, R.E.G.A.R.D., YMCA Board of Directors, Hot Springs Music Festival (board of directors), Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity, Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist, the Lotus Book Club and Hot Springs National Park Rotary Club.
As well as being the first female chairman of the board for the chamber, Selig was named Woman of the Year three times.
"When you look back at the accomplishments that were during her tenure, there were too many to name," Burrough said.
Burrough said Selig was "more than anything, a friend." He was working in Little Rock while Selig was mayor but has lived in Hot Springs his entire life.
"If you're from Hot Springs, it's not difficult to know who Helen Selig is and who she was," he said.
Arrison said he also thought of Selig as a friend, as well as her husband and the rest of her family. Selig had four children and 11 grandchildren who referred to her as "Nana."
"If you ever wanted a Nana, she'd be the one you'd want," Arrison said. "She was just a great person, a great family person, and she and her family have done so much for our community."
As for the future of Hot Springs, Alderdice said leaders like Selig recognize the past is only as good as the future that is consistently being built.
"I think Helen would continue to champion today's emerging leaders and the work that we are doing to ensure that Hot Springs' future is even brighter than its past," Alderdice said.